Tag: New York City Ballet

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Farewell To A True Artist

So sad! So, yesterday was Nikolaj Hubbe‘s final performance with the New York City Ballet. He will now return to Denmark to head the Royal Danish Ballet. I am really going to miss him. There are lots of great dancers, but he was a true artist, bringing every step he did to a higher level.

A wide range of dances were on yesterday’s bill, showing his extreme versatility. The afternoon began with Balanchine’s poetic 1928 “Apollo,” the story of a boy / god who matures into a man, with the help of course of three other-worldly muses, or as Tobi Tobias defines it, “the saga of a soul … finding its identity.”

We then saw “Flower Festival in Genzano,” a short piece choreographed by August Bournonville, fitting since he founded the Royal Danish and Nikolaj excelled in his ballets there early in his career. Here, Nikolaj did not perform himself but two young dancers whom he’s trained in the School of American Ballet — the marvelous and charismatic Kathryn Morgan, whom I’d seen as Juliet in Martins’ Romeo + Juliet, and a young corps member, David Prottas, whom I’ve noticed before but only in the corps, and who blew me away yesterday. He has lovely long legs that make a breathtaking line and, as I’ve noticed before, he does every little step with such clarity and precision. He stands out. I’m serious about noticing his curly headed, long-legged excellence in the corps before — in ballets like “Square Dance;” I just never said anything because I was once told by a critic friend that it’s bad luck for an up and coming dancer to laud them too much early on — like it jinxes them or something, and perhaps because I just didn’t have the confidence to say what I thought of someone no one else had mentioned. I’m so glad Nikolaj used him in this all-important piece on his farewell program. It makes me feel like I’m not a total idiot and can spot talent and artistry too 🙂

Then came “Zakouski,” a Peter Martins ballet. To be honest, I’ve never been all that in love with Martins’s choreography (apart from the recent “Grazioso”) but once Nikolaj stepped out on that stage I felt completely different. It’s a cute story of the different facets of one couple, actually performed by two different pairs. Nikolaj danced one of the pairs with his longtime partner, Yvonne Borree, and the other partnership was danced by one of my new favorites Andrew Veyette, and sweet Megan Fairchild. Nikolaj and Yvonne had the more mature roles, their dance infused with sexy tango-like movements, which he performed perfectly sharply, sexily, manly. I love him! He also brought out the magic in Yvonne — so, he brought out the magic in both Peter and Yvonne.

When they took their curtain call for this one, it was so sad. Yvonne was crying uncontrollably; his shirt was wet all down one side with her tears. It almost made me cry. Below is a Paul Kolnick picture of them together, not in this dance but another.

The last section was “Cool” from Jerome Robbins’s “West Side Story Suite,” in which Nikolaj actually sang a little! And the program ended with Balanchine’s cowboy and saloon-girl-inhabited tribute to the American West, “Western Symphony.” I guess it’s good that I got Nilas Martins confused with Nikolaj a couple of times in this final ballet. There will still be a Nikolaj-reminder for me in the company.

Here’s a nice little write-up on Nikolaj’s career in Playbill.

As always with hugely important performances like this, the whole day is just one big event, in which everyone in the ballet world, and often beyond, partakes. I no more than got seated when I heard a man and woman fighting behind me. Apparently, she had said too loudly, “Look, there’s Baryshnikov!” thereby embarrassing him. I looked and looked but could not find him. This is likely because I’d just seen my love, hairy-faced and sporting big black chunky glasses, make his besuited entrance. He sat in the first row right smack in the center and chatted with lady next to him. During each intermission I caught him with dancers in his usual hang-out place — on the right side of the theater either on the promenade or the ground floor. Anyway, after I got myself seated for the second intermission, I tucked my legs under me to let passersby get to their seats, and right as his leg brushed mine, I looked up and saw Misha’s face. He was just sitting a few seats down from me and I didn’t even notice him! In the row behind me was Alexei Ratmansky, the director of the Bolshoi who may take over as artistic director of NYCBallet. During second intermission, I saw Philip and Wei and Philip asked me to ask him what his decision was on that (apparently he had to decide by the day before or something). I said no way, I’m way too shy! I also ran into Sarah, and Monica. Others wrote accounts of the day by the way: here is Philip’s and here is Sarah’s.

Of course the final curtain call was horrendously sad. It went on for maybe twenty minutes. There was confetti, bizillions of flowers, everyone in the company past and present went up onstage to hug and kiss him.

Nikolaj will give his final dance performance in April with the Royal Danish. During intermission Monica said under her breath, “Hmmm, I wonder if I have any reason to go to Copenhagen in April?…” I was thinking exactly the same thing. Do we need more of a reason though?!

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New Wheeldon Pretty But Not Profound

 

So last night was the premiere of the newest ballet by Christopher Wheeldon at New York City Ballet, the last he’ll choreograph for the company in his role as resident choreographer. Named ROCOCO VARIATIONS, because it was choreographed to Tchiakovsky’s music of the same name, it was relatively short and minimal, involving a total of four dancers — two male / female couples. Overall, my first impressions are that it was sweet and pretty, but nothing that really blew me away. The curtain opened to a bare stage, no sets. First one couple emerged, then another, the two women dressed in really lovely bronze-colored strapless dresses, the flowing skirts A-level and knee-length. They resembled a cross between ballgowns and a long tulle ballet tutu, and at first I thought it was going to be reminiscent of a Balanchine ballroom ballet, but I was wrong; it was pretty much straight ballet pas de deux. The men wore brown tights and white billowing tops covered by 19th Century-esque beige vests. The music was absolutely beautiful, it goes without saying, and Wheeldon’s very musical; the steps “looked like” the music.

I appreciated a few moments of original partnering and movement: at one point, when all four are onstage, the women stand next to each other and extend their arms toward each other, and the men walk around them and underneath their arms, on the way through grabbing each other and doing a short, jaunty little male -on- male dance. Cute! There was also a nice, evocative shape made by one couple — Sterling Hyltin and Giovanni Villalobos — when Giovanni lunged deeply toward her and she leaned toward him on one toe, her back leg in an arabesque. Where normally the ballerina would keep her head up to maintain her balance and smile brightly at her partner’s face, here she covered his hands with hers and let her head fall all the way underneath their locked hands. It looked like she was really deferring to him, really trusting him, and it was original. Near the end, Adrian Danchig-Waring, the other man, bent down, and his ballerina Sara Mearns, lay on his back, her body straight, almost like a log, and he carried her off that way, bent-backed, as if now bearing a weight.

I was really mesmerized by Mearns and Danchig-Waring. Adrian’s arms were so fluid, they were like water. And both were very expressive with their upper bodies; they had beautiful port de bras (arm movements) culminating with intricate, delicate shaping of the wrists.

I’ll see the ballet again, but, on first sighting, I found the choreography pretty and lyrical, with points of originality, but nothing tremendously profound. My thoughts are that Wheeldon is petering out a bit, wanting to focus now on his own company, Morphoses.

The rest of the evening consisted of Balanchine’s sweetly Romantic “Divertimento from ‘Le Baiser de la Fee'” — which translates to “The Fairy’s Kiss” and is based on a Hans Christian Anderson tale; Peter Martins’s short tribute to China, “The Chairman Dances,” likely in honor of the Chinese New Year (Happy Chinese New Year everyone!); and Balanchine’s fun, raucous “Stars and Stripes,” a patriotic tribute to his adopted country, choreographed in honor of NYC mayor, Fiorella LaGuardia, to iconic Philip Sousa marching music.

I then came home and watched Randy Jackson’s “America’s Best Dance Crew,” on MTV, which I’d taped. I thought it was a lot of fun — very different from the other dance TV shows. For people who didn’t see it, it’s all dancing — no singing, unlike “Dance War” and the groups have been working together for some time, so they’re familiar with each other and know what they’re doing. It appears that the judges give the groups a different song to choreograph to and they have to come up with something original in a short period of time. The crews with the two lowest scores have a dance-off in the end. But the dancing is really only hip hop with some breaking thrown in, so there isn’t a variety of styles, unlike SYTYCD. My favorite crew overall thus far is “Live in Color,” though I’m not in love with the name — too much like “Living Colour,” whose lead singer the lead dancer actually kind of resembles, with the mohawk (though the dancer’s hair is shorter than the singer’s was). I loved how that guy threw in those fouettes at the end (which one of the judges called “art spins” 🙂 ) Anyway, I’m expecting to write more about the show on my Huffington Post blog column, when it’s up (I’m thinking it got a bit delayed by Super Tuesday). If it’s not up soon, I’ll write more about the shows here.

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Night of Premieres

Just a reminder, tonight Randy Jackson’s new reality TV dance show, “America’s Best Dance Crew,” premieres on MTV, 10 p.m. ET (although it looks like it’ll be rebroadcast a bunch of times). Mario Lopez from “Dancing With the Stars” co-hosts and Shane Sparks from “So You Think You Can Dance” is one of the three judges. In this show, whose orientation is mainly toward hip hop, the competition is among several dance teams. But these teams are already formed and have been working together for some time, so it’s not another “Dance War.” For more info go here.

Tonight’s also the premiere of — don’t laugh, I’m honestly kinda excited to see it 🙂 — “Lipstick Jungle,” starring Brooke Shields and based on Candace Bushnell’s book of the same name. That’s on NBC also at 10 p.m. ET.

And finally, if you’re in New York, tonight is the premiere of the last ballet Christopher Wheeldon will choreograph for the New York City Ballet in his job as resident choreographer of that company. After this season he will leave his post (possibly to be replaced by the Bolshoi’s Alexei Ratmansky), to concentrate on his own company, Morphoses. That’s at the State Theater at 8 p.m.

Happy night!

Oh, and also, speaking of ballet, look at these gorgeous pictures by Patricio Melo of Ballet de Santiago’s “Swan Lake”! Wow!

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Nikolaj!

Last night I went to the State Theater to hear Nikolaj Hubbe, who is retiring from NYCBallet this month to head The Royal Danish Ballet) give a little interview. Unfortunately I missed Philip, who covered the event in pretty good detail here.

Oh, he’s so good-lucking, and what a fun, charming, good-humored personality! And what a deep, virile, sexy, scratchy voice! … although the scratchiness could have had something to do with a little cold he seemed to have come down with. I hope he’s well for Sunday! He came onstage dressed in tight black jeans and black and white checkered shirt with a big matching scarf wrapped around his throat, and his hair mussed about sexily.

Like the most charismatic people, he’s able to laugh easily at himself. Asked when he realized he wanted to be a dancer, he said, “Well, I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but … well … I always knew I’d be a dancer,” then laughed and kind of rolled his eyes like that couldn’t help but sound pretentious! He knew he wanted to be a dancer when, at four years old, his mother took him to a Nutcracker. But, what he really wanted back then, he said, was to come out of the little trap doors in the floor and ride across stage in the big nutshell (which they had in the Copenhagen version). So, like all little kids, he wanted the theatricality of it all. And at thirty, “I thought I would be a Hollywood star,” he said, then burst out laughing. He seemed really to enjoy making fun of himself at thirty (ten years ago): he later said he had initially applied for the directorship of the Royal Danish at that age but was then turned down. Said with a laugh he “couldn’t believe they turned down me, the Nikolaj Hubbe, haha! I was the Great Dane who (ventured beyond) the Copenhagen border and became famous in America!” But it was all for the best, he said: he needed the ten years to learn to interact with people, to develop as an artist and learn “diplomacy,” to have more international experience, to take his hubris down a (big) notch 🙂 He needed to “eat humble pie.”

He admitted he’s a slow learner, has problems learning the steps because he’s too analytical, too brooding. I remembered reading an article where the writer, observing a choreographer working with ABT dancers, said David Hallberg seemed to have problems learning new choreography. Hmmm, the best artistically and seemingly the most intellectually sophisticated have the hardest time with new steps… Maybe this sheds light on the difference between an artist and a dancer. Since I’ve been so taken with his dramatic abilities and his expressiveness, I listened carefully when he explained his process. He basically said he used to stress out a lot about how he was going to perform something, how he was going to do a coda or a variation, how to emphasize this, what detail to give that… Finally, he learned to let go of all that, he learned to just know the choreography well, have thought about it deeply well before the performance, and then let go of it all before the show so he could be free to just be in the moment when he was onstage. That way, having no “worries about” or “ambitions” for a piece, you learn to shed your self-consciousness. I kind of understood, although it’s hard for me since I’m not a performer.

Someone in the audience smartly asked him how he interpreted the man’s solo in latter part of SQUARE DANCE, which didn’t involve a lot of dramatics and wasn’t a “story-ballet” to be acted. He thought about it (he was very pensive throughout, taking his time to think out his answers rather than just blurting out whatever came to mind), and said he thought the solo was highly dramatic, in silence and simplicity there can still be huge turmoil, and, though the part was very ‘lyrical’ and ‘poetic’ and all (his vocal inflections on the “lyrical” and “poetic” indicated he wished to think outside of the typical ballet-speak box — I use those words all the time, bad me!!) the solo still wasn’t without its “outbursts.” How I wanted to hear him talk more about all of his roles! Well, I just hope he can impart all of his wisdom to the next generation because he’s leaving a big huge hole here!!!

Speaking of teaching, he said he loves it — it’s all one in the same to him, dance is dance whether it’s performing, teaching, directing, it’s dance and it’s what he lives for.

He also talked about his favorite roles: Sonnambula (the first thing I saw him in 🙂 ), Apollo (likely the last thing I’ll see him in), Rubies from Jewels, Other Dances, Afternoon of a Faun, West Side Story, Dances at a Gathering (though he initially hated it), Square Dance, he went on and on — basically everything. He even spoke of something Peter Martins choreographed just for him which he hated at first, but once it was taken out of the repertory he loved it and longed to dance it again. Isn’t that how life always is though…

He talked a bit about his partnerships, said he was terrified of the big famous ballerinas when he first arrived in NYC, loved partnering Yvonne Borree because she’s so small and made him feel very big and powerful and protective (he said this with a smile and laugh), he said, raising his eyebrows, that it was “unnerving” to dance with Wendy Whelan, said he was always very alert when partnering her. He said talking about dance partnerships was very “psychological,” like how you work with a certain person, differently with another, says a lot about your own psychology. That I understood 🙂

Okay, that’s all I can think of for now. His last day dancing with NYCB will be this Sunday. So sad.

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Tom Gold is the Quintessential Balletic Chaplin, Megan the Frightening Dork, Justin in Yet More Drag, and Amar!

 

I’m writing a formal review for Explore Dance, but for now, if you’re in New York, don’t miss NYCBallet’s DOUBLE FEATURE, showing only through Wednesday. An homage to silent films, the evening is comprised, as the name implies, of two ballets, both by Broadway / sometime ballet choreographer Susan Stroman. The first, “The Blue Necklace,” is a slow-moving melodrama, kind of a soap opera version of Cinderella. Aside from opening chorus-girl and ending waltzing -couples numbers, there isn’t a huge amount of dancing, which is mainly I think why I didn’t care a whole lot for this one, though Megan Fairchild hilariously stood out as the dangerously dorky stepsister who can’t dance her way out of a paper bag. She held her feet so pidgeon-toed at one point, I thought she may twist her kneecap. And who knew how much she looks like Christina Ricci?!

The “feature” to see, though, is the second, “Makin’ Whoopee,” a slapstick piece starring a rather tragicomical Charlie Chaplin in the guise of soloist Tom Gold. There is no one better to play a balletic version of the little fellow — he had all the moves just right; so cutely pathetic but ultimately triumphant… Surprisingly, though, Amar Ramasar is a born actor —

— he completely took over the stage whenever he was on it. Something about him reminds me of Marcelo… He did a crazy sexy bad tango … except, the ganchos. Messrs. Ramasar and Fairchild, those were not ganchos, they were half-assed ballet boy kicky-thingys! Also, Robert Fairchild needs a smaller hat; it practically covered his eyes and I couldn’t even tell who he was until he took it off to do some big bravura jumps and his wet hair went flying about. But apart from dainty tango hooks and over-large sweat-inducing top hats, this ballet showcases a cute little dog, and Justin Peck in yet more drag… this time not as a plump matriach with a nursery beneath her skirt, but as a lovely bride… Don’t ask, just go see it!

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Bring on the Europeans: it’s the Nikolaj Hubbes Of The World Who Make Ballet an Essential Art

This afternoon I saw another “Traditions” program at NYCBallet. Go here for my description of the program and the ballets. My reason for re-seeing this program was basically that a young dancer, Daniel Ulbricht, debuted in the lead role of Balanchine’s “The Prodigal Son.” But first, Nikolaj!

The first ballet on was Balanchine’s “Square Dance” which I wrote about earlier. This is a dance that combines classical ballet with modern, American folk dance. This time, instead of Andrew Veyette dancing the male lead, we had Nikolaj Hubbe… soon to become NYCB legend Nikolaj Hubbe, as he leaves NY next month to return to Denmark to take over the Royal Danish Ballet. He’s just so wonderful, watching him is making me so sad; I feel like every performance of his from now until he leaves will be bittersweet. He’s so dramatic, so full of expression; I really hope before he leaves he can teach some of the other dancers how dramatic dancing is done. For example, the way he reaches out to something in the distance, looking out over his arm — it both elongates the line and infuses the pose with meaning. The way he flexes a foot and regards it, the way he bends a standing foot, then looks back over his shoulder at it — like it means something; it’s not just an empty image. The way he looks to a place on the stage, then runs to it; it’s like he absolutely must be there for some reason. We don’t know what the reason is, but we know it exists in his mind and we’re compelled by it. And the way he throws himself so fully into every move: when he takes a solid stand in fourth position and pushes outward as if against some opposition; the way he throws his upper body forward or backward far over his center seemingly with abandon; even just the way he holds his hands, curling his fingers. Everything he does is so full of intent and passion — this is a story-less ballet and you don’t always know what the meaning of his movements is, but that doesn’t matter. It is there and you can sense it and it draws you to him, into his world, and you’re just so sorry when it’s over and you have to leave it. I see so few who dance with that intensity and expressiveness and conviction. During the intermission, Wei, Philip‘s partner, told me it’s a European thing. That Nilas Martins dances the same way. Then please please please bring on the Europeans! Isn’t the Ballet Master- in- Chief Danish? Can’t he impart some European wisdom to his dancers? Can’t he bring over some friends from the Old World. Come on, Mr. Martins, you can’t just let Nikolaj go without a replacement! Ugh, why am I just discovering him at the end of his time here… The Royal Danish Ballet is so going to thrive.

Okay, moving on to Daniel Ulbricht‘s debut in “Prodigal Son.”

 

Well, there were many bloggers there today (as we had a nice little blogger get-together on the promenade, much of which I unfortunately missed thanks to an enormous line at the ladies’ room — but thanks so much to everyone who showed up and sorry if I missed any of you!) Anyway, as I was saying, there were many bloggers there today and I’m sure all of them are going to give Mr. Ulbricht glowing reviews. So, knowing that, I feel I can step out of the mold and speak my mind and be a little harsh. The complete antithesis of Hubbe, Ulbrich is a jumper, not an artist. He can jump really really really really really really really high. How high? Really high. Which is good; it provides a great many thrills for all of the teenage girls in the audience — and oh were they there today, giggling, cheering, laughing and squealing, up in the balcony. And it’s also very athletic, so I don’t mean to diss the high jumps. I shouldn’t say he is a jumper rather than an artist; maybe I should say he is an athlete rather than an artist. But my point is, he came out onstage and performed these huge leaps, NOT in order to express his character’s angst and need to get out and see the world, but in order to please those teenage girls in the audience. And I’m sorry but that annoys me greatly. He seemed to realize this early on and tried to correct it by lashing out and making angry faces at his “family.” But the angry faces were too much by that time — he overdid it and it and it seemed almost cartoonish.

In the middle scenes with the Siren, I felt like he became more himself, but too much so. He regarded the Siren the way a guy on the street would look at a cute girl. He was into her, and he let her know it. But I didn’t see him becoming bewitched by her, entranced by her spell so that it was impossible to escape. I didn’t see any real seduction; it was more like flirting.

I felt he did the best with the third part — when he was beaten and broken and trying to find his way home. But I still felt as he crawled along the floor, spotted his house, reached out for his mother, and finally embraced his father — that none of it came from within, that it was all how he thought a “prodigal son” would act. He needs to find those emotions within himself though; he needs to find his own prodigal son, make the character his own. Otherwise it looks fake and it fails to move the audience.

I do think Mr. Ulbricht has artistic potential. I felt all the things I mentioned above with ABT’s Herman Cornejo at first too, and he’s now one of my favorites. Maybe it’s just a youth thing with all the crazy jumps and bravura leaps — wanting badly to impress. It makes sense. He just needs to decide who it is he wishes to impress.

There was a new Siren too — Teresa Reichlen. I liked her beautifully expressive wrists, and, at the end of her scene, when she snatched the prodigal son’s golden chain, she had wicked greediness written all over her face. But I felt like she wasn’t much of a seductress. I realize those lifts are very very hard — standing up on the guy’s bent knees and trying to keep balance, sitting on his head while he lifts you that way, no hands… It makes sense that everyone is deep in concentration, especially two dancers who are performing the roles for the first time, which necessarily takes away from their ability to throw themselves into the roles. I do wish though that Mr. Martins would try Georgina Pazcoguin in the role. This season she’s proven herself one of the most dramatic ballerinas in the company and I really would love to see what she would do with this part. Please, Mr. Martins, let Georgina have a shot! Please, please! Janie Taylor would also be interesting. Where has she been lately?

And then the evening concluded with Jerome Robbins’s “The Four Seasons,” which, again, I described here. I really liked Sterling Hyltin in Winter. She was adorable in her shivering surprise at being snatched up into a high lift by a rolling snowball of a man, then accidentally bumping butts with a bunch of snowflake ballerinas, causing a flurry of further shivers.

Tyler Angle also impressed. He didn’t have a large part, but when he was onstage with three others, all jumping, one at a time, then together or in pairs, I noticed he looked curiously at his fellow dancers, as if asking to see what kind of spark they’d give to their little hop. The others simply looked straight on and did their jumps. It’s things like this that make a performance something far more than just a recital of choreography. Angle is getting absolute loads of critical acclaim from all the critics, so I don’t need to point out that he’s good. But this kind of engagement with a dance is why people take notice of him.

Finally, I was also mesmerized by Antonio Carmena as Fall’s impish little faun. I saw Daniel Ulbricht in this role last time, and Antonio also did well at the bouncing jumps and leaps, but he was more focused on character. And his elfin little Cupid, playing mischievous matchmaker with the leads, was charming. I haven’t seen much of Carmena but can’t wait to see more!

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Movie in the Making: NY Export: Opus Jazz

I’m behind on my blogging. Last Sunday, I braved the freezing cold (I HATE NY when temps drop down to the teens and single digits; all I can think of is death) and ventured up to the Guggenheim for another Works & Process event. This one, entitled “Ballet in Sneakers,” was about the making of a new film of Jerome Robbins’ 1958 jazz ballet, “NY Export: Opus Jazz.” Two New York City Ballet dancers — Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi — are the impetus behind the project. The filming is still currently underway and, in fact, is not very far along unfortunately. I was hoping they would have more clips to show other than that which I saw earlier at NYCity Ballet (which I blogged about here), but so far the duet I wrote about in that post is the only one that has been filmed. The (very young!) filmmakers — director Henry Joost, along with Jody Lee Lipes and Ariel Schulman, were there to discuss a bit of the logistics of filming that piece and the locations in which they’re thinking of shooting other parts: a tobacco warehouse under the Brooklyn Bridge, a hidden area in Staten Island under the Verrazano Bridge, and they’re looking for a low rooftop surrounded by high rises. Joost gamely asked the audience to let him know if they knew of such a place. Basically, they are seeking to film one of each of the five parts of the dance in each of the five burroughs, which I thought was sweet, and fitting since Robbins was a quintessential New Yorker who loved this city, and made his ballet in honor of it. I’ll be interested to see the finished product.

I do wonder how long it’s going to be, though, since the ballet itself is not as long as a full-length feature film, and whether it’s going to show in regular cinemas, art house theaters, the New York State Theater, PBS, go direct to DVD, etc. I really wish the Works & Process organizers would allow some time for an audience Q&A. They do have a cocktail social afterward, but it’s often difficult to track down the speakers, and Sunday night it was impossible since the lobby is currently being used for the filming of another movie (don’t know which, but I heard Clive Owen was spotted in the museum earlier that day) and so was unavailable to us.

Speaking of movies, “How She Move,” of which they showed a trailer during “Dance War” on Monday night, looks kind of good. Well, the dancing at least looks decent… It opens here tomorrow night.

And speaking of “Dance War” — really, I’m sorry this post is so all over the place! — I wasn’t tremendously impressed with Monday night’s first team dance-off. I liked Team Carrie Ann’s last performance the best, mainly because they did what I said I’d most prefer in my last post on the show: put the divas up front and center and have the men as backup dancers. The women can really sing (at least four of them can), and though I’m not sure I’m tremendously impressed with anyone‘s dancing, at least the choreographers seem to be entrusting the men with somewhat more interesting moves than the women. I didn’t much care for Carrie Ann’s first team performance, though — the hip hop with all the posturing. I thought it was interesting at first, and very initially reminded me of Camille A. Brown’s “Groove to Nobody’s Business,” but it got old fast and went nowhere. I couldn’t much appreciate Bruno’s first piece, with all the pimpish sex kitten crap. He basically said he wants “sexy women and strong men,” so that is apparently where it’s at for him. And I honestly can’t remember his second piece…

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Oltremare

Tonight (or, seeing as how it’s 2:00 a.m., last night rather) was the world premiere of a new ballet by Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti at New York City Ballet. The dancers did a spectacular job with some very difficult-looking choreography. Anyway, first things first: my evening got off to a very excited start, as I sat next to Judith Jamison, legendary Alvin Ailey dancer and now artistic director of that company, my favorite (if it wasn’t clear from all of my December posts.) I know I may sound like a goof sometimes, but sitting beside a giant like her was just such a thrill. Of course I was too shy to say anything to her 🙂

So, Oltremare. The program notes state that the name of the ballet translates to “beyond the sea” and is intended to explore the feelings people have upon leaving their homeland for a new country: sadness, excitement, fear of the unknown. The ballet, very modern and without pointe shoes, began with several dancers, all dressed in early 20th Century clothing reminiscent of “Little House on the Prairie,” and all bearing large, burdensome suitcases. They entered the stage in a line, as if they’d just disembarked a boat. The music at this point was minimal and consisted only of a beating sound. They suddenly dropped the suitcases, collapsed on top of them, exhausted, and made kicking and pushing motions in each direction as if fighting the urge to return to the boat. But they picked themselves up and forged ahead.

 

After their initial trek across stage, the dancers returned, without suitcases, and began performing a series of very dramatic duets full of mixed emotions. Georgina Pazcoguin completely blew me away. She danced with such passion and the intensity of her internal conflict was made clear with every facial expression and every detailed movement she made. She struggled savagely against her first partner, Jason Fowler, he scooping her up as she lashed out, fighting him, punching out at the air around her, then hurling herself at him in anger, forcing him to catch her in mid-air.

Another pas de deux between Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar ensued, this one slightly more mild, conveying less anger but more sorrow, although many of the lifts and movements were very similar to those in the first duet.

 

Some ensemble dancing and a series of solos followed. And it was here where Andrew Veyette, a new favorite of mine, completely blew me away. He had a crazy hard solo replete with insane leg-switching barrel turns, corkscrew jumps, and multiple fouette turns and pirouettes, and he pulled if off like it was absolutely nothing! So excellent for him! The movement was all very modern, very grounded with a lot of steps emphasizing heel over toe, and flexed hands and feet. He seemed a natural for this kind of vocabulary. (I also saw him dance parts of Jerome Robbins’s Opus Jazz at the Guggenheim on Sunday — which I’ll blog about soon — and thought the same thing; he is a modern mover). Amar Ramasar impressed me in this respect as well.

A few more pas de deux followed, including one between the amazing Georgina and Andrew. I don’t know if it was intentional, but this one looked more fraught with sexual tension. It actually reminded me of the novel “Middlesex,” where characters Lefty and Desdemona have just escaped the burning of Smyrna, their homeland, and caught the boat to New York. They are siblings but they are also in love and, horrified and upset as they are about having to flee their country, they use the anonymity of ship and then the New World to re-define themselves as husband and wife, to Desdemona’s never-ending shame.

In another duet, danced by Tyler Angle and Maria Kowroski, the man seemed grieved at the woman’s despondency. They had some very difficult lifts, where he, lying on the ground, had to hold her up, then roll over her and whip her up and over himself repeatedly. I wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be suicidal and he was trying to shake her out of it or what.

But regardless, my main problem was the choreography. The mood of all the pas de deux seemed too one-note, and, since the story begins and ends with the same duet — that between Georgina and Jason — the narrative as a whole didn’t really seem to progress. Each duet was either full of anger or sorrow or both; and the movement in all of them, except for the Angle / Kowroski, seemed very similar. The mood and choreography of the ensemble parts was varied, but didn’t always make sense to me. At one point, it appears that the dancers are having some kind of happy square-dance-like hoe-down. If this is meant to convey that they are coming to peace with their new home, then fine, but the movement at times was so overly fast and choppy it looked almost cartoonish. So, it seemed like a grotesque, distorted version of a western folk dance. At other points I saw echoes of West Side Story, with the male bravado and the female swooning. American but a bit anachronistic. The music was varied as well, with some parts more fluid, others more intentionally discordant, as if symbolizing difficulty, unrest perhaps, basically that something was just “off” in this new home.

These are my first impressions; I definitely want to see it again. The dancing was simply superb. As is usual for openings, the choreographer was there as was music composer Bruno Moretti, and they took bows with the dancers and signed autographs out on the (freezing) Plaza afterward. Premieres always make for a fun night! This program will repeat several times throughout the winter season; go here for the schedule.

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Me, and Bad Boys :)

First, my review of NYCBallet’s “Traditions” and “Balanchine’s World” programs is up on ExploreDance.com. I talked about the ballets in more depth than I did in my blog post; in particular, ballerina Maria Kowroski. Plus there are better pictures 🙂

Second, Maria (of A Time To Dance, not Maria Kowroski) has some interesting info on Rasta Thomas. Apparently, he is bringing his Bad Boys of Dance, which I wrote about when the just-formed company premiered at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival over the summer, to DC. Also, Rasta has been named Artistic Director of a dance company there called Echo Park Contemporary Ballet. Lucky DCers!

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Heads Up: Blogger / Winger Reader / Dance Fan Get-Together

For people in the New York area who happen to have tickets to the New York City Ballet matinee this Sunday, there will be an informal meet-up of dance bloggers, Winger readers, and dance fans on the promenade (that’s the main floor where the gift shop is) near the statue on the left side of the hall, during the second intermission. That’s right after Daniel Ulbricht will make his debut in Balanchine’s monumental “Prodigal Son.” Philip, who organized the get-together, and others, figured it would be an ideal meeting time since so many people are excited to see Daniel dance this role. It is a very big part for a young dancer 🙂 Jerome Robbins, Baryshnikov, and other ballet greats of yore have all danced it… So, we’ll all be there to discuss Mr. Ulbricht’s performance right afterward. And I’m sure there will be tons of press people there as well… Poor Daniel; the pressure’s on! Hehe, just kidding; this is what dancers live for, I’m sure!

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Splendid Weekend of Balanchine and Ballroom

As I said in my last post, I’m in the midst of another crazy weekend running back and forth between New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center and the Manhattan Amateur Classic in midtown, so this will be kind of short. The last two programs I’ve seen at NYCB made clear to me why Balanchine’s considered such a genius. I’m going to write reviews for ExploreDance.com (which I will definitely link to when they’re up, and which I hope people will read 🙂 ) so I’m not going to write all that much now, except to point out some highlights.

 

Highlight #1: seeing PRODIGAL SON performed live for the first time!  I’ve been dying to see it ever since reading Terry Teachout’s short Balanchine bio, ALL IN THE DANCES. This is a story ballet, mirroring the Biblical tale of the boy who leaves his family to find his way in the world, where he is seduced by a Siren and beaten and robbed by her cohorts, and left naked and to die, only to find his way painstakingly back home, where he is taken in again by his forgiving father (only thing missing from the dance is the obediant son). Damian Woetzel had the lead and he was excellent. He exuded perfect youthful angst, wonder and amazement at the Siren, and complete boyish helplessness as he falls under her spell, then perfect pathos as he crawls along the ground, beaten and having lost everything, trying to find his way back home. What I love about the ballet is that there really doesn’t need to be much “acting”; the story is all in the choreography, from the youth’s energetic, high, lashing-out kick/jumps, to the siren’s seductive leg raises and splitting lifts, to her cohorts’ grotesque crab-like, bent-kneed sideways walks. Woetzel, about to retire, is a dancer at the prime of his artistry; a much younger dancer, Daniel Ulbricht, is scheduled to debut in the role next weekend. He is thus far known for his bravura dancing (high jumps, big leaps, turns upon turns with no end in sight). No doubt he’ll excel in the beginning “angsty young man” parts, but it will be interesting to see whether he can move the audience the way Woetzel did as the story evolves.

The other highlight from Friday night was Andrew Veyette from the first piece on the program, Balanchine’s SQUARE DANCE. This is one of Balanchine’s many plotless ballets that well illustrates his ingenius skill at making uniquely American ballets by combining classical ballet steps with American social dance. Andrew had the principal male part. I hope this isn’t offensive, but I was actually taken with him because I found something about him sweetly relatable. He has a tall, thin body kind of like David Hallberg‘s, and therefore perfect for ballet, and he is really a very good dancer. But I don’t think he knows it yet! I feel like he gets nervous and it shows on his face and his body; when he did a series of sharp staccato jumps at one point, it looked like he was lifting his body by his shoulders instead of his legs. He wasn’t; it only looked that way because nervousness leads to tension which leads to hunching your shoulders up rather than keeping them down and connected to your center. I know because this was one of my big nerve-induced problems… But at one point, in the middle of the ballet, he really let go and you could tell — he did these beautifully high jumps and he was really soft and fluid and at ease, and his face relaxed and his dancing just shined. I think it just took him a while to warm up, and then he got nervous again toward the end. It’s just funny because this is so me; always so tense … Anyway, I think he has the potential to be a really beautiful dancer and it’s just a matter of him relaxing and trusting himself 🙂 Saturday highlights were the beautifully haunting La Sonnambula, and for sure Tarantella! The latter is a fast, fun, sexy, sassy little dance consisting mainly of back and forth “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better”-style solos between male and female 19th Century peasant types that are each full of so much bravura dancing, it is almost a competition. It was danced by the beyond -compare Ashley Bouder, and Gonzalo Garcia, a recent transplant here from San Francisco Ballet. (Above image by the way, is of different dancers). Gonzalo is a really good dancer, but you don’t walk away from a competition with Ashley still standing! You just don’t! Anything anyone can do, she can do better 🙂 She is fast becoming my favorite allegro ballerina, not just of NYCB but overall. Once she starts, she just never stops; I was getting dizzy watching her… She owns roles like that.

 

And other highlight was La Sonnambula, a story ballet about a poet who finds himself at a masked ball, the object of the grand mistress’s affections until he falls in love with a beautiful sleepwalker, danced by the wonderful Wendy Whelan. The hunky Nikolaj Hubbe danced the poet, and by ‘hunky’ I mean both good- and heavy-looking; because at the end, after he is killed through the jealous mistress’s orders, tiny Wendy picks him up and carries him away. Philip and Ariel think it looks near-impossible. But Wendy is a powerhouse and Nikolaj was holding himself very tightly, so I could see it being real; a man can definitely hold himself up enough for a woman to lift him, especially at waist level. Pasha actually made me do the same to him once, so he could show me how to hold myself. Of course I only lasted about 1/10 of a second before dropping him (but it was okay, because he was prepared the whole time to be dropped!), and with Wendy having about 200-300 times more muscle mass than I (while still managing to be thinner), she could definitely manage him.

Oh, Nikolaj is so good — he was so poetic yet human as he fell for the hauntingly beautiful, ghost-like sleepwalker, holding out his arms in front of her to trip her out of her slumber. Each time he lay his arm out on the floor, she would tiptoe, on pointe, right over it without looking down. So, was she really a woman who was simply sleep-walking or was she some ethereal being meant to save the poet’s soul and get him out of that stiflingly stupid ball??

Anyway, then Saturday night I went to the Manhattan Amateur Classic, the biggest amateur ballroom competition in the New York area. I’ve never followed the amateur comps (only the professional ones; and sometimes pro/ams having done those myself), so I’d never been to this one before. I loved it. As with all ballroom competitions, somehow I’m just transported into another world. Not to sound corny, but seriously, something about sitting there for six or seven hours watching all these dapper, handsome gentlemen dressed in tux ‘n tails whisking their glowing ladies in gorgeous ballgowns around the floor, interspersed with the fun, sensual rhythmic Latin dancing, just takes me away from my problems for a time. And since this one was held not in a hotel like most, but in an actual ballroom with a balcony, it reminded me of Blackpool. I almost wanted to cry at the end of the night when the final Standard trophy was given because it meant my week in England was coming to an end and I now had to return to my quaint little B&B for three hours of sleep and mad packing so I’d be ready to catch the early morning train to Manchester. But then no one sang “God Save The Queen,” and I happily told myself; it’s just a subway ride home… Everyone who’s into ballroom has to go to Blackpool at some point; it’s magic, it’s mandatory!

As I said, I don’t really follow the amateur comps, but here are some highlights:

 

A faorit Standard couple of mine (this is from the open Adult championships). They placed, I think, second. He looks a little like Jose Carreno 🙂

 

The Latin Youth division — meaning ages 16-19. Some real up and comers!

Some of my favorites from Latin Youth. The guy was very tall, which is usually problematic for Latin — you just can’t move as quickly as the smaller dancers. But this guy was amazing; he reminded me of Vaidotas Skimelis, the pro dancer who’s been making it to the finals in recent comps. He doesn’t let his size slow him too much, and really uses it to his advantage by playing up the hyper-masculine charm. Of course I guess the original large Latin uber mensch is Maks Chmerkovskiy… Anyway, this couple placed second, so go me for calling it 🙂

 

Another of the “tall couple.”

 

I retreated to the balcony; things were getting a bit too crowded (and melodramatic) down on the floor… These are the Youth Latin finals; the guy in the middle with his arm out — they were the winners, which I called as well. They were overall my favorites. There are some amazing dancers in the amateur division — especially in the Youth, since they’re likely gonna go on and become pros, but also in the adult (21-35) division too. People think amateur means bad, but in ballroom, it really doesn’t. At least not necessarily. Some amateurs have sponsors (like Freed shoes, Taka Dance costumer, etc.), so they don’t have day jobs, but rather dance full-time. Because of this, they’re sometimes even better than some of the pros, who do work (as ballroom teachers; the definition of a pro in the ballroom world is someone who gets paid to teach ballroom dance). So, you can see some really excellent dancing at these amateur comps.

Long shot of the Latin Youth finals. They have a board at the front of the ballroom floor for announcing heats, which I think is a great idea and one I haven’t seen used a whole lot at competitions.

 

Cuties from the under 16-Latin. This adorable couple made the finals.

 

Back to Adult Standard. The couple in green (lady in green that is) were very striking to me, though they didn’t make the finals. I remember the guy from my studio. He used to train in Latin, and he was a great Latin dancer. Now he’s apparently competing in Standard. It amazed me how well he was able to switch between the two because they’re extremely different, not just technique-wise, but personality-wise as well. Sexy, grounded, hip-swaying Latin guy into soft on his feet, floating-above-the-floor, dapper ballroom gent is not an easy transition to make. To be sure, his ballroom was a little Latiny, which is likely why they didn’t make the finals. He leads her pretty hard and fast, making their Tango absolutely electric, but some of the other dances, like their Quickstep was not light enough. Still, I think his Latin-ness brought a real charm and sexiness (in a smoldering kind of way) to his Standard dancing.

Okay, I have to run off to the Guggenheim, for another Works & Process event. Here is my album of the MAC; I think there are a couple pics I left out!

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"Sex and The City" and Ballet Go Together Like…

 

First Candace married Charles, then Baryshnikov graced the TV show with his majestic presence, and now yummy Magnolia Bakery, whose original West Village location was popularized by the same (Sex & the City, that is, not Misha 🙂 ) is opening a new location just a few steps from Lincoln Center. Should make for an ideal after-ballet snacking ‘n chatting ground. Ariel and I, who were in the neighborhood, went to check it out today, since I’d heard it opened its doors yesterday, but unfortunately it’s only been available for private parties for the last two days. Tomorrow is its official public opening, 11 am sharp. Cupcakes for breakfast!